Path of a Champion
by A Grey Stone
Summary: Ash's dream has always been being the best. What happens when he gets a magikarp for a starter? A mix of the games and the anime


Chapter 1: The start of a path

 _Ring Ring_

Ash woke up with a start and looked at the alarm clock. He grinned. He wasn't late. He had set his alarm clock extra early that morning so he wouldn't sleep in. This was the day he would get his first pokemon. There was no way he was going to be late.

Turns out his plan worked great. As soon as his mother stopping fussing over him and telling him how proud she was Ash was ready to go to professor Oak's lab.

"Oh! And don't forget Ash" his mother suddenly exclaimed "Make sure to come back here and say good bye first. Run along now you don't want to be late, do you? "

He nodded and began to walk out the door to the lab. As he walked he reflected on his starter. _A charmander would be nice_ he thought. He had wanted to be a pokemon trainer ever since he learned about them. Just as he had reached the yellow colored building of professor Oak's lab, a scratchy voice called out

"Hey! Ashy. So you made it after all. I almost thought that you would be late" Gary called out

Ash smiled and shook his head "This is the day I'm starting my journey, Gary. There's no way I'm gonna be late"

They entered the lab through the doors and were greeted by a woman in a lab coat

"Oh hello" the woman said kindly "You must be the new trainers. Follow me I'll lead you to the professor"

She turned around and began leading them to the main part of the lab where Professor Oak was waiting for them.

At the center of the room was a small table with three pokeballs on it. Standing in front of the table was professor Oak who was smiling warmly at them.

"Now, as you know today will be the day you will be receiving your first pokemon" he said "Each of you will pick one of the three standard starters"

He was interrupted by the other boy. "But Professor there are four of us. Shouldn't there be four pokeballs too?"

The famous professor turned around looked at the three pokeballs for a while and turned around again looking embarrassed. "Don't worry everyone will get a pokemon. One of you will just have to wait for me to get you another pokemon" he replied sheepishly "So, who is going to wait?"

Ash looked around at the others and felt a lump in his throat as he realized that no one was going to volunteer. He then thought that it's okay if he didn't get a charmander. As long as he get a pokemon its okay.

"I'll wait" he told the professor disappointedly. The professor looked at him reassuringly and then turned to the others and said

"Okay, you three. These pokeballs you see here are the standard kanto starters: bulbasaur, the grass type pokemon squirtle, the water type pokemon and charmander, the fire type" Oak said as he pointed his fingers to the respective pokeballs. "Now, who's going to choose first?"

Gary stepped forward and chose the pokeball holding squirtle and stepped back while smiling comfortingly at Ash. The other two trainers stepped forward and chose their pokemons as well.

"Now that you have chosen your first pokemon I will ask you help me with a pet project of mine" said the professor as he reached into the bag behind him and pulled out a red rectangular device  
"This is a pokedex. It records every pokemon you've seen tells you about that pokemon. I'll give it to you so you can collect the data of every single pokemon on this planet. Understood?"

A chorus of 'yes's rang thorough the room. Professor Oak smiled and hand them a pokedex and a few pokeballs.

"Now, go and get ready for your ultimate journey of being a pokemon trainer. Good luck"

With that, all of the new pokemon trainers rushed out of the room leaving Ash alone with the professor.

"Now, Ash could you just wait for a minute while I get your pokemon?" Professor oak asked

Ash merely nodded. The professor smiled and rushed out of the room, probably to bring Ash's first pokemon to him.

As minutes passed, Ash started to get anxious. What if there wasn't a pokemon left for him. If that was the case he would have to wait another year!

By the time Oak came back, Ash was starting to hyperventilate. Ash snapped back into reality when the professor cleared his throat. Ash looked up and felt every drop of anxiousness wash away when he saw the good professor holding a standard red and white pokeball.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed that the professor was very wet. Well, actually, he looked like he just fell into a lake.

"Well, Ash, here's your pokemon." As Ash got up from his chair the professor stopped him.

Ash reached out with shaking hands. This would be his first pokemon. Even if it was a rattata or a pidgey he promised himself that he would care for it no matter what.

He grabbed the red and white sphere from the professor's hand and pressed the small release button and watched as a white beam of light erupted from the pokeball and settled in front of him.

The creature that had emerged from the pokeball was… a magikarp.

For a moment Ash simply stared at the wiggling fish

"Sorry, Ash but that's all we have at the moment. The next shipping of new starters wasn't until next month"

Ash looked at the professor for a few more moment and then smiled as wide as he could. Many people said raising a magikarp was a waste of time. That they are useless pokemon who can't do anything. Ash disagreed. Every pokemon has their own value. It would take time and a lot of effort but that would be a challenge he was willing to take. Besides, Gyarados are some very cool pokemon.

Now that he inspected the magikarp more closely he noticed the obvious difference between normal magikarp and his. Instead of the usual red color his magikarp had an orangish yellow color. Professor Oak had given him a shiny pokemon!

He knelt down in front of his pokemon and said "Hey, there" Magikarp stopped its wiggling to look at him curiously

"I'm training to be the best pokemon master in the world. I will help you become the greatest Gyarados in the world no matter what it takes! Will you help me?"

Magikarp looked at him with wide eyes. Nobody had bothered to help him before. He nodded vigorously to Ash making his trainer smile widely.

The heartwarming moment was then halted by professor Oak as he say "Well, now that you've got your pokemon, you should be ready to embark on your journey."

Ash nodded slowly and returned Magikarp to his ball. The professor suddenly stood up from his seat across from Ash.

"Well, you should get going. You don't want your mom to wait for you too long, do you?"

Ash shook his face as he stood up too. "Bye, professor. Thanks for everything!"

The professor smiled "Your welcome, Ash. Have a safe journey"

Ash breathed in the morning air as he stepped outside the laboratory. He felt a burst of excitement. He was about to start his journey. He was about to head to his mom's house when he heard a voice called out

"Hey, Ash. Why did you took so long? I almost thought I would have to leave without you" He turned to the source of that voice and found Gary Oak standing across from him

Ash was confused. Why did Gary, the most impatient person he ever knew, waited for him.

His question was answered almost instantly as Gary said "Ah, come on. You don't know? Okay, I'll tell you. Ash, let's have a pokemon battle

 **I'm sorry that this isn't much of a chapter but I promise that they will be longer. PLEASE REVIEW!**


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